"First the Bow Is Bent In Study": Dominican Education Before 1350

by Marian Michèle Mulchahey

618 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1998

Reviews

[Joshua Revelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

“‘First the Bow Is Bent In Study…’: Dominican Education Before 1350” is an extraordinary piece of research. M. M. Mulchahey has managed to summarize in one book the orientations, means, and development of Dominican education spanning for more than a century and across Europe. She offers a coherent picture of Dominican activity as it unfolded in different time periods and provinces, and throughout the Order as a whole, from within the smallest convent schools to the largest general studia, and from the greatest works of the Order’s theology masters to the sermons composed by common brothers. The amount and depth of research behind this work is astounding, with an almost forty-page single-spaced bibliography bearing witness. Mulchahey’s presentation is detailed enough that the book can serve as a kind of encyclopedic reference, yet it never becomes overly bogged down in detail. Her analysis of historical evidence is clearly explained, and on almost every page her argumentation based on primary source material is remarkably convincing and refreshing for its clarity. Most scholarly works of this length and density are tiresome to complete, but Mulchahey writes with a style that is engaging and with turns of phrase that are delightful in their variety. It is rare to find a scholarly work of such breadth and penetrating analysis maintaining such consistent quality and readability. Needless to say, only scholars with a specific interest in the topic would find this book so compelling. At the same time, only those with a scholarly interest would likely to have access to this book, since it is sadly not readily available. But for those who do have an interest in the training of medieval Dominicans, this book should be a seen and gratefully received as an indispensable resource.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Scholarly treatise on the education by Dominicans early in their history. Sadly, didn't have a lot of information on what I was looking for (Dominican Grammar Schools)